It is ironic that one of the most universally well-loved art movements was once considered avant-garde and radical. Have art lovers been trained by a hundred years of reflection to regard Impressionism as beautiful? Or is it inherently so? Is it possible that at that first Impression exhibition at the Salon des Refuses, pregnant women were warned that looking at such paintings could cause them to miscarry? (Strange, but true.)
Where Did Impressionism Begin?
It all started in France in the middle of the 19th century. It was a time that was ruled by the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and their most important art exhibition of the year was the Salon de Paris. The Salon was a juried art show where all artists desired to show their paintings and artwork. Salon artists gained prestige, maybe sold the painting or perhaps picked up a commission or two along the way.
The Salon de Paris
In 1863, the jury at the Salon rejected an unusually large number of paintings that were different than the traditional academy accepted style. In particular, The Luncheon on the Grass (Le déjeuner sur l'herbe), by Édouard Manet was rejected for using nudity outside the context of religion or mythology. In response to this large rejection, the artists protested with a Salon des Refuses, an exhibition of those who had been refused by the academy.
The Impressionism Movement
The Impressionism movement grew quickly in the latter part of the 1800's and spread to the United States and Australia. Impressionists include: Gustave Caillebotte, Mary Cassatt, Paul Cezanne, Edgar Degas, Armand Guillaumin, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Alfred Sisley.
The New Style of Painting
Impressionism painters used lighter, brighter colors than their academic predecessors. Impressionists also went outdoors to paint and championed plein-air painting. Because Impressionists were interested in quickly changing or transient light, they painted quickly which allows brushstrokes to be seen and admired. This new, painterly style of painting gave one the impression of what you were looking at rather than a near photographic representation. Impression Sunrise (1873) by Claude Monet is the painting that gave an art movement its name-Impressionism.
Make Way for Post-Impressionism
Impressionism is important because it moves painting and art history forward significantly, and allows for other artists to be inspired as Post-Impressionists. Paul Cezanne was only a temporary part of the Impressionist movement and went on to become the grandfather of Cubism. Other important Post-Impressionist artists include: Olilon Redon, Henri Rousseau, Vincent Van Gogh, Paul Gauguin, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec and Georges Seurat.
When next visiting a local museum, check out the Impressionist collection and admire those radical and wild Impressionists. The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. has quite an impressive collection of Impressionist paintings.
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